Students of health-related subjects have an important role in national strategies on HIV/AIDS prevention. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs towards HIV/AIDS among students at health institutes in Sana'a city, Yemen. A descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted on 600 students selected by cluster sampling. Students had a moderate level of HIV/AIDS knowledge (an average of 67.6% were correct on all items). Nevertheless, 82.3% knew that HIV could be transmitted by sexual intercourse without a condom, 87.5% from syringes, 71.8% from infected blood and 80.7% from mother to child. Misconceptions about how HIV is transmitted (e.g. hugging and kissing or sharing food, swimming pools and classrooms) were found among 41.5% of the students. Attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS showed that 59.8% of students were accepting and positive. There was a common opinion among respondents that HIV-infected persons needed to be punished (65.5%) and isolated (41.0%); however, 86.8% were willing to care for an HIV-infected person. Sana'a and Al-Sabeen Hospital, Sana'a, Yemen (Correspondence to N.A. Al-Rabeei: nabilalrabeei@hotmail.com